Can you bleach grey hair?

When colouring grey hair there are certain things to consider before you begin: How much grey hair do you have? How much are you planning to cover? Where is the grey hair located? What kind of consistency does the hair have?

Grey hair simply lacks pigment, so when you apply bleach to it, it will have a yellow or blond appearance – quite similar to highlighting or double-process blonding. You shouldn’t be distressed by this. It is difficult to bleach and tone grey hair, but these tips should definitely help you on your way.

Texture of grey hair

Grey hair is generally coarser than pigmented hair strands, and this means it is more difficult to cover. Using a permanent hair colour will give you the best coverage.

Choosing a colour for your grey hair

Semi-permanent hair colour will blend the grey hair by instilling it with just a bit of colour, something similar to highlights. It’s the ideal colour type for those who hate hair maintenance, as the colour growth will be more natural and less noticeable.

Like we said above, grey hair is typically more difficult to cover, so the best option could possibly be permanent hair dyes, this is probably ideal if you have lots of grey hair that you'd like to cover.

So which colour should you choose?

Experts recommend that you should choose a neutral colour to dye your hair

Ashy shades won't disguise your grey hairs all over, typically

Of course, choosing a blonde shade to colour your grey hair is going to be more difficult to disguise it, but it can be done

Dark hair colours have more pigment, so they're better coverage for grey hairs

But a shade that's too dark will still show up when you have root re-growth

It's important to find the balance between the two

Steps to bleaching grey hair

Give your hair the best chance of grey coverage by following the instructions on the box to the letter, you'll want to ensure you leave the dye on for long enough, so the pigments soak into the grey strands.

When you apply the colour to your hair, start with the grey hairs first, this will ensure they get the best opportunity to soak in the colour, and plus it ensures you cover those hairs the best and with the biggest amount of dye.